First Laugh

Reading Tim's comments about the last few days reminds me that even though Macy's on strike and it is uncomfortably hot, Macy also decided to debut her laugh this Saturday. It was AMAZING! Seriously, my heart was so uplifted by it. Tim was downstairs with Macy and he stood her on the bathroom counter in front of the mirror and bounced her. She loves to bounce and started rocking out pretty hard - smiling and eventually laughing! I missed it, but later we were out at dinner and Tim got her bouncing again and I got to hear her laugh. She has such a big, infectious smile and it was so incredible to hear her laugh. There's nothing more precious in life than seeing your little baby happy. Even with the strike, we had some fun events this weekend too:)

I'm on strike!

I guess all good things eventually do come to an end. We were doing so well with Macy's feedings that I didn't expect it when she decided to go on what they call a "feeding strike". It's not that she won't eat at all, she just doesn't eat as much and when she does eat, she fusses like crazy. This obviously effects her overall day and her sleep somewhat. She still sleeps pretty well but she's not doing as well as she was the previous 3-4 weeks. It really started to happen just before Kristy and Macy left for San Diego for Kristy's grandmother's funeral but we just thought it was a one time occurrence. She (Macy) did ok in SD but when they came back she started her strike. It's kinda distressing when you can't really figure out exactly why they act the way they do or what they want. It doesn't really help that the weather has been extremely warm the past 3 days. Don't get me wrong, I like sunny weather but unfortunately we don't have any AC in our house so it can get pretty warm and uncomfortable for all of us. I guess that this will give us a preview of what to expect for most of the summer. I'm currently working on getting our bedroom AC setup so I'll have to hurry that process up. On Friday, we went to the doctor for Macy's checkup and everything seems to be going as it should be. The doctor reassured us that the "feeding strike" was common and not to worry too much (easy for her to say!). This was also the appointment where Macy was supposed to get all of her immunization shots. Kristy has been really concerned about the effects of the shots and bought a book on the subject as well as discuss it with other people. I figured that getting shots were perfectly fine and normal but there's a lot of other considerations that go along with that (which I won't go into now). We ended up giving Macy on one shot but what I didn't necessarily expect was that both Kristy and I got one as well! Man, my arm is still a little sore from that bad boy. Anyway, it's been an eventful last 4 days or so. Parenthood can definitely throw a few curve balls your way so you've got to be ready.

When the Sun Comes Out...

Hallelujah! We had such a beautiful day here on Sunday and it seemed like the spirits of the whole city of Vancouver were lifted! Of course Kristy loves any excuse to dress-up Macy and give her some cool accessories. I don't know though, those glasses look awfully reminiscent of a famous singer (Elton John anyone??). I'm not quite sure yet if Macy likes the sunny weather or not. It's not like we've had but 2 days of nice weather since she's been born though! One of my favorite things to do is take her for a walk around our neighborhood. We have a lot of nice paved sidewalks and little parks all around us to take Macy in her stroller. Besides, it's a good chance for us to get outside, get some exercise and get some fresh air. When we first had Macy, it seemed as though we were cooped-up in the house way too much. I really felt like I was getting cabin fever. Now Kristy and I feel comfortable with taking Macy pretty much wherever we need to go. Aside from Macy getting a little sun, I was able to do some stuff around the house. I have found that PM (Post-Macy) I have felt the need to do some constructive things with our dwelling place whether that be fixing things inside the house that have been neglected for far too long or sprucing up our limited yard space around our home. I have to be honest, it's quite invigorating and fullfilling.
Newsflash: Kristy and I got to go on our first date since Macy was born last Friday! We were originally going to go to a movie but on our way to drop Macy off at the babysitter (some great folks from church) Kristy realized she forgot to bring the bottle. So we had to turn around and go back to get it which botched our movie plans. That however, did not ruin our night. After we left Macy with sitters we went... Bowling! It's been a while since we did that and after a couple of games we went to the cool arcade section of the bowling alley to play. We then grabbed a bite to eat just before we had to get back and get the little one. On a side note, the place we ate at was called the Doner Haus and it serves these "gyro type" sandwiches which are out of this world. It's got a cool German themed environment and killer food. Just thought I'd throw that in there. Back on track, one of the nicest things about the date was that we didn't talk any baby stuff. It's not that we don't desperately love our girl but we just need a time-out on occassion. I wonder when other people have their first date after the birth of their child. Anyone want to chime in? We're blessed to have a ton of people at our church willing to take Macy for an evening (could you blame them?) so I figure we'll be taking advantage of that on a regular basis.

That's all for now, I hope that at least a few people are enjoying these blogs because I'm actually starting to like writing them!

Lettin' Loose

Ya know, when Macy was only about a week old someone said to me that things would get easier and she would become a lot more interactive. As they said this I remember thinking in my head how much I wanted to slap them in the face for their ridiculousness but now I'm starting to hear the truth in their statement. Granted, things aren't necessarily "easy" right now but we've started to get into a routine and groove. Macy is starting to interact with us more and more each day and that is certainly encouraging. Parenthood is something that has flipped my world on its head. I didn't really realize the amount of time I spent (before Macy) just hanging and messing around. Now it seems as though almost all of my "awake" time is occupied with something Macy-related. I definitely don't get around to some of my old hobbies/recreation (reading, movies, PS3) like I used to. I wonder if that will come back around in time. Part of me wants to be done with this early stage (the lazy, slacker part) and move on to the stage where she's more responsive. Maybe I just need to enjoy this time for what it is and let the other stuff come when it's time. I will say that no matter how hard things can get, I just keep falling in love with Macy more each day. Sappy I know, but it's the truth. It's times like these (see pic) that tells me what I'm doing is one of the coolest things in the world.

-Tim